Advent Calendar - DAY 16

Announcing: "The Message"

Monday, the fourth week of Advent

 

Today’s Readings: Isaiah 40:9, Isaiah 41:27, Isaiah 52:7, Isaiah 61:2, Luke 1:19, Luke 2:8-11, Luke 4:16-21, Acts 13:32

 

For many people Christmas is all about the baby Jesus & the story of His birth as foretold in the scriptures.  And while that is all true, it is only part of the story.  The full story is The Message that was given throughout the Old Testament by the Prophets of God and then announced by the Angels in the beginning of the New Testament, carried out by Jesus in the four Gospels and then developed and further explained by the writers of the epistles.

When God made His first public declaration of The Message to the lowly shepherds who were “abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night,” (Luke 2:8 KJV) He described it as containing “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” (Luke 2:10 KJV)  He then went on to define it as the coming of the “Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11 KJV) 

You’ll note when you read the story in Luke’s gospel, that although the angel of the Lord had previously shared The Message, that it was given separately to specifically chosen individuals.  When the angel and his heavenly companions appeared to the shepherds, the announcement was given to a group of individuals who, after confirming the information by going to Bethlehem in order to see what the Lord had told them (See: Luke 2:15) immediately shared the good news of The Message with everybody they came into contact with.

The next public announcement of The Message came some thirty years later when Jesus stood to read the scriptures in His hometown synagogue in Nazareth, where He boldly declared that, "The Spirit of the Lord is with me. He has anointed me to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to announce forgiveness to the prisoners of sin and the restoring of sight to the blind, to forgive those who have been shattered by sin, to announce the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19 God’s Word ©)

Both of these announcements made it perfectly clear that this Message was one of GOOD NEWS, was a Message that should instill a spirit and sense of JOY in everyone who heard it, and was a Message with the promise of a new way of life that was available for EVERYONE!

So, let me ask you then… if it is such a JOYFUL Message… why aren’t more people EXCITED, EXPECTANT and HAPPY about it... especially now, during the Christmas Holidays? 

When Piper was confined to her wheelchair, we tended to make friends everywhere we went.  I firmly believe it was because the people in those stores, restaurants, doctor’s offices and even during our many trips to the emergency rooms in both California and North Carolina saw the joy of the Lord both in us and radiating from us… and Piper for most of that time, couldn’t talk but still caused people to come up to me to tell me what a sweet spirit she had about her!  I think that they saw something in us that gave them hope and just enjoyed being around us.

I believe with all my heart that this is exactly The Message that you and I need to visibly live, not only during the Christmas season, but during the other eleven months of the year as well!  It is an actual decision that I make every day when I rise out of bed each morning.  Take today for instance… when I didn’t want to get up and face the day… but prayed and made myself physically put on a smile BEFORE I pulled the cover off…

If I truly believe my Bible… then I HAVE to believe that The Message announced at that very first Christmas in Bethlehem a few thousand years ago, really WAS and still IS today, “a message that will fill everyone with joy.” (Luke 2:10 God’s Word ©)

And then… I’ve got to communicate it to my heart as well as to my FACE!  What do you think about that?  Maybe today would be a good time to talk about this with your family and come up with some special ways in which each of you individually and as a family can be a HAPPY blessing to someone else during these last few days before Christmas!

I pray that you have an especially HAPPY and REWARDING week as you expect God’s blessing upon yourself and then share them with others!